𝑇𝑅𝐴𝑃𝑃𝐸𝐷 𝐼𝑁 𝐹𝑅𝐸𝐸𝐷𝑂𝑀

𝑁𝐼𝑁𝐸~ 𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑒

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The sun had nearly set when finally we decided to call it a day. We found a clearing and settled in, extremely exhausted from a long day of walking and a sleepless night. Arlo built us a fire, using methods he had learned the previous night from Amos.

After leaving Leanne and Amos behind, we had trekked to the meadow, where we cleaned up in the stream. It was clear that I was in the worst shape out of all of us, which didn't surprise me in the least. No amount of anger could have given me the strength to win a physical fight, what had I been thinking? Besides, everything had still worked out in our favor, and I knew better for the future. The others only suffered minor injuries, Sariah had a small cut on her lip and Callum a bruised eye. My lungs were still recovering from being knocked clean of air, and my face was severely bruised and bloodied up. I attempted to clean the blood from my face, splashing it with the stream's water. I also tried to crack my broken nose back into its original position, with some success but a great deal of pain.

At our new camp, Callum dragged five boulder-like rocks around the fire for us to sit on. Nola sat on my lap, not being able to balance on the rocks by herself. I pulled out some of Leanne's food, eating the bread and other things that would spoil first. We talked about the traitors, and how we had outsmarted them. I was incredibly proud of our efforts. It was difficult for me to wrap my head around anything in In-Between, and I definitely would have difficulty reflecting on our time with Leanne and Amos. It pained me to think that they would most likely die tied to that tree, but it was much better than us shooting them with the gun.

Our conversation went on well into the evening, and soon the moon and fire were the only light in the forest. We decided to go to sleep when Nola began to drift off in my arms.

Suddenly, a small pop echoed through the forest. Damn it. Dugal stood before us, smiling brightly in the firelight.

"Good evening, my friends!" he said, his voice cheerful. We all stared at him in fear that he wielded a new task.

"Not another task already," I begged, "we've dealt with enough crap in the last twenty-four hours."

"Not to fear, not to fear," Dugal said, assuring us, "I have come to begin a tradition here in the In-Between. I am here to tell you my story, as an inspiration of sorts."

We all sighed with a huge wave of relief. "Alright," Callum said, patting Nola's empty rock beside him, "have a seat." I could tell that he was resisting the urge to complain about how we had been about to go to sleep.

Dugal sat down on the rock, crossing one of his legs over the other. His body looked so three-dimensional, I found it hard to believe he was not really there with us.

"Did you know about the others we met yesterday, Dug?" I asked, not knowing if Dugal knew about Leanne and Amos.

Dugal gave me a look of guilt, "I did not know that there were others in the forest," he told us, "but when I learned about their presence, it was too late, you had already defeated them," he grinned with pride, "I apologize for not being more careful, children, but it seems that you took care of them perfectly well on our own."

"We did, Dug," Callum said, "but we still need your help moving forward."

Dugal's grin widened, "I will be at your service. Now, would you like to hear about my time in In-Between?" We all nodded eagerly. Although we were all about to fall asleep, I could tell that everyone was genuinely excited to hear what Dug had to say.